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Show 1871.] VISCOUNT WALDEN ON THE BIRDS OF CELEBES. 333 One genus is restricted to Celebes and the Sanghir islands, Cittura ; one to Celebes and the Philippines, Prioniturus; and one to Celebes and Ceram, Basilornis. " Of these twelve genera, Meropogon, Strepticitta, and Basilornis belong to the non-Australian families; Gazzola to the almost universal Corvinee; Monachalcyon, Ceycopsis, and Cittura are isolated genera of a family in which the Australian region is pre-eminently rich ; Enodes and Scissirostrum have affinities with genera common to the Indian and Australian regions; Megacephalon is strictly Australian. The affinities of Prioniturus seem to be with Australian genera. " The total number of Celebean genera also found within the Indian region, but not in the Australian, is forty-eight*. " The total number of Celebean genera also occurring in the Australian region, but not in the Indian, is twenty-three. If we compare these numbers, we find that Celebes contains twenty-five more Indian than Australian genera. " If we make the same comparison by orders, the following results are obtained :- _ ,. Indian region. Australian region. Psittaci 1 3 Rapaces 10 2 Picarice 11 3 Passeres 20 5 Columbce 2 8 Gallinee 1 1 Grallee 2 1 Anseres 1 0 Total 48 23 " So while the Celebean Rapaces and Passeres contain a large majority of Indian genera, in the Psittaci and Columbce Australian genera preponderate. Loriculus is classed as an Indian genus ; yet until the zoogeographical positions of the Philippines and of Celebes are determined the zoogeographical characters of Loriculus cannot be established. Within the limits of the Philippine and Celebean areas, seven out of the thirteen known species occur. Another, L. amabilis, a representative form of the Celebean L. stigmatus, occurs in the Sanghir Islands, and is also Papuan, being found at Gilolo and Batchian. The remaining five, one of which (L.flosculus) is the Flores representative of the Javan __. pusillus, are peculiar to the Indian region. If, then, we cease to regard Loriculus as having an Indian * It is true that Buceros, Alcedo, Budytes, and Pratincola occur in some of the Papuan and Moluccan islands; but they cannot be considered as genera belonging to the Australian region. |